Vol 3. Issue 33
Join us on Tuesday, August 13th at 6:00pm at Haymarket House for the launch of CPDP 3.0.
Currently, the site is home to nearly a quarter million misconduct records on Chicago police officers from 1988 - 2018. This update will add tens of thousands of new records, including new complaints and use of force data from 2019-2023. We are also adding police settlement data for the first time, displaying nearly $500 million in payments made by the city to settle police misconduct.
We invite you to join us at this launch event to hear more about the tool, engage with the new data, and discover ways this information can be used during the DNC, within your neighborhood, and more.
Sam Stecklow and Farrah Anderson investigate former deputy Sean Grayson’s history of misconduct and discharge from the U.S. Army
In two recent investigations published with Illinois Public Media, our reporters Sam and Farrah have uncovered a long history of misconduct for former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy Sean Grayson, now charged with the murder of Springfield resident Sonya Massey.
Prior to his employment with six different police departments in Central Illinois from 2020 - 2024, Grayson was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct.
Documents we obtained from the Kincaid Police Department, where Grayson worked previously, note that Grayson was discharged from the Army in 2016 from the Fort Riley Army installation in Kansas for “Misconduct (Serious Offense).” Army officials confirmed Grayson was a wheeled vehicle mechanic from May 2014 to February 2016, but declined to provide further details about his discharge.
Anthony Ghiotto, a former Air Force prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Illinois, said there are several reasons why a service member could receive this type of discharge in lieu of a court-martial proceeding or if the member commits a civilian infraction that can’t be disciplined through the military justice system.
Ghiotto said this kind of discharge suggests that Grayson committed an offense equivalent to something that would have led to at least a year of incarceration for a civilian.
In subsequent reporting, Sam and Farrah detail Grayson’s history of misconduct while employed at various departments in Illinois. While employed at Logan County Sheriff’s Office, where Grayson worked for 11 months prior to Sangamon County, records show department officials concluded Grayson ignored internal policies during a high-speed chase, fielded at least two formal complaints about his behavior and told him directly that they had considered firing him.
These records also include audio recordings from a November 2022 interview between Grayson and Logan County’s chief deputy which suggest the department — as well as other police departments that had employed him — were previously aware of issues with his performance and integrity as an officer.
Read Deputy who killed Sonya Massey in Springfield was discharged from Army for serious misconduct→
Read Deputy who killed Sonya Massey joined Sangamon County Sheriff after past employers questioned his integrity and conduct→
We produced this story in collaboration with the Investigative Reporting Workshop and IPM Newsroom. Additional reporting by Illinois Times Senior Staff Writer Dean Olsen.
We’re Hiring an Investigative Reporter!
We are thrilled to share that we have been selected as one of three partner newsrooms – alongside AZ Luminaria and the New York Amsterdam News – to work with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network over the next three years. This partnership will support an investigative reporter to cover issues around policing and the wider criminal justice system in Chicago, working in collaboration with ProPublica’s editors and specialized teams. This program is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
We are actively hiring an experienced investigative reporter to work with our team on long-term investigative projects. We are looking for candidates based in Chicago who are able to work alongside our team at our office in Woodlawn on a regular basis, but we also support regular remote work.
Learn more about the position→
Complete your application by August 31st→
We want to hear from you! We are proud to be a multi-faceted organization working in many areas - including audio reporting, educational work, investigative reporting and more. Please consider completing this form to tell us what areas of our work you're interested in getting updates and event notifications for in the coming year.
